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"plenty of hours of fun"

"great invention"

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great fun way of getting fit

wii fit where do i start
great invention, fun way of getting fit, they can be a laugh at house parties.
i bought my wii about 4 years ago for £200 i got a wii, wii fit kit and 2 games
it all still works now. i use it about 3 times a week and it still looks brand new.
When my nephew is at mine he uses the wii fit aswel as he enjoys playing on the snow board game on the wii fit board.
you can pick a wii fit up these days for around £40 on ebay i would say well worth the money

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great invention

The Wii Fit is an add on product for people who already own a Nintendo Wii, it will not work on its own. It consists of a small platform and a computer disc.

It is very easy to get stated with the wii fit if you already have your Nintendo wii up and running. The platform will need four aa batteries, then you just insert the disc into your wii and follow the instructions. Dont turn on you platform or stand on it until you are instructed to.

Once it is going, it is a very useful tool to keep you fit, flexible and keep an eye on you weight and posture. The platform is a very accurate weighing scale, and provided you have customised a wii character for yourself, it will keep a check on you weight if you wish, showing you your gains or losses and giving you the opportunity to set goals and targets.

Also included on the disc supplied are a number of interesting games and exercises to tone you up, keep you fit and improve your flexibility. There are traditional exercise routines such as yoga, boxersise, cycling etc, as well as more unusual ones such as kung fu, obstacle races, balance games etc. All the games are played whilst standing on the wii platform, and normally you will hold the wii controller as well. In this way, the sensors can detect all you movements and translate them to the character on the screen, making you excercise routine interesting and fun as you try and beat previous targets.

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A great item for everyone to have fun and get fit with.

My children and myself have all used this product, as it combines fun and fitness at the same time. It's suitable for any age from 3-99, or sex, or level of fitness. The good thing about it, is you can personalise your fitness plans to suit you and your needs and what you're aiming to achieve from your fitness plan with your very own personal trainer to keep you motivated. It also helps track your results on a daily basis, including weight and body mass index shown in charts which are easy to see how your results are going. It also calculates the amount of calories burned for each workout you do and also shows this on your daily profile.

There are four main categories of exercise to choose from. Yoga, Strength Trainging, Aerobics and Balance Games. Altogether this amounts to over 40 different exercises across these four categories.

The Wii Balance Board is used in conjuction with Wii Fit and this helps monitor your balance and posture, telling you clearly if your weight distribution is unlevel, therefore helping you to realign your body into a more natural position.

When you first create your own personal profile, a fitness overview is done, to establish your current fitness level and to create a benchmark for establishing future results. A maximum of 8 personal profiles can be created so for larger groups it has it's limitations.

The cost of this would be far more cost effective than a gym membership for those on a budget. It also has the bonus of the whole family being able to use it at any time.

The Balance Board is slimline enough to hide away easily when not in use. Mine just slides undereath our sofa where it can't be seen. Although the Balance Board does require batteries. I've found that they do seem to last a long time, providing you remember to turn your board off of course!

Many of the choices on the Wii Fit don't feel like you're doing exercise at all they are so fun to do. E.g the hula hoop, skiing etc.

The one thing I do find a little tedious is the music. Each exercise has it's own tune but it's the same tune all the time for that particular exercise. It would be good if they did vary, however, it's not a huge deal.

All in all a great item to have in the home as it's not always easy to find exercise for the whole family that is fun too and can be done in all weathers!

I give this item 5 out of 5 stars.

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The Unique Way To Keep Fit!

What Is A Wii Fit?A Wii Fit is sort of like a fitness game which is used in conjunction with the Wii Games Console. There is the usual disc which you insert into the Wii console and also a 'Balance Board' which is just like a set of weighing scales. You need to stand on the balance board for the various exercises and games that you will take part in. The balance board is slightly different from a normal set of weighing scales because as well as being able to measure you weight, it can also judge how much weight you place on each foot and where you centre of gravity (COG) is. From all this information, it is able to tell you how you can improve your posture.

Setting Up The Wii FitSetting up the Wii Fit is really easy as you can literally take it straight from the box and get going. All you need to do is put the batteries into the back of it (batteries are included in kit) and press the Power button and you can begin your fun and games.

Setting Up A MiiEach person who uses the Wii Fit can set up a Mii, which is basically a user file which is stored on the Wii. For this you need to input various details such as height, date of birth etc. Then, every time you use the Wii Fit, you click on your own personal Mii and all your user data will be stored here so you are easily able to keep track of any weight loss/gain and the various exercises you have taken part in. If you would like to keep your user information such as your weight a secret, then you can actually password protect your Mii which I thought was quite a good option!

The Body Test - Wii Fit AgeIn this section you can have your Body Mass Index (BMI) checked, take part on a Body Test and afterwards you will be presented with a 'Wii Fit Age' which is basically the Wii console guessing your age based on how well you have done in the Body Test. When you select the body test, you need to stand still on the balance board while it takes your various measurements and judges how much weight you place on each leg. Afterwards, you are told about your centre of gravity (COG), how equally balanced you are, your current weight and what your current BMI is. You are then told if you have gained or lost weight since the last time you took a Body Test. From here, you can set goals, choosing how much you want to lose/gain or stay and the time period you would like to achieve this in.

After you have had your BMI calculated, you can choose to end the Body Test here, or continue with the Body Test and be given a Wii Fit Age. To judge your Wii Fit age you are given 2 tests and these can vary each time you do a Body Test. There are only a few options for the tests and you do not get to choose which test you do as they are selected randomly by the Wii. The various options are:

The Walking Test For the Walking Test you will be asked to walk on the spot (on the balance board) for 20 paces. At the end of the test you are told how much weight you place on each leg as you walk. The idea is to get the balance as near to 50% for each leg as you can.

The Stillness TestFor the Stillness Test you are required to stay as still as you possibly can for one minute. At the end of the test you will be shown exactly how much you moved around on the balance board during the test.

One Leg TestThis is where you stand on one leg and need to stay as still as possible throughout the test. At the end of the test you are shown a trace of how much you moved about during the test. Personally, I am rubbish at this one because my balance is fairly poor and I find it really difficult to keep still when I am trying to balance!

Hitting TargetsThis is where you need to adjust the balance between your leg to hit various targets that appear on the screen, as the time progresses, the targets appear in more difficult areas. The idea is to hit as many targets as you can in the time you are given.

Agility TestThis is similar to the Hitting Targets tests in the sense the you need to adjust your balance between your legs but in this test you just need to balance a specific amount of weight i.e. 30% on your right leg and 70% on your left leg. You are given various weights to follow and the idea is to hit the targets you are given as quickly as you can.

Once you have taken part in two of the above tests, you are then presented with a Wii Fit Age based on how well you did in the tests. When I first started using the Wii, my age was round the 45 mark which was rather embarrassing as I am actually 24. Now when I use the Wii, I can regularly get my age down to 21 which is much more satisfying. My partner is 34 and has managed to get his age down to 29 (which had him smiling for days!)Nearly every time you use the Wii, you are informed that you should do a body test every day even if you don't have time to do any of the other games and exercises..

Once you have done the Body Test, you can then choose between the various exercises. When you first begin to use the Wii, only a selection of the exercises are available but as you use to Wii more, the other exercises become unlocked. We used to Wii quite a lot in the first month or so and had most of the exercises unlocked within 10 days. The exercises are split into four sections.

Aerobic ExercisesThis section is designed to give you a cardio workout and believe me they really get your heart pumping!!. There are nine different sections although some of them are just different variations of a previous section, which is just more difficult and challenging.

Hula HoopThis is the first game that I took part in on the Wii and I found it such good fun, even if I did look rather silly doing it! The idea is that you need to move you hips in a circular motion with the intention of keeping a hula hoop spinning around your hips. There is a character on the screen (your Mii) and you can see how well you are doing and how fast the hoop is spinning around. This is a sure fire way to get everyone in the room laughing as you look so silly when you are doing it but boy does it make you ache the next day if you do the exercise several times!

StepAt first, I really really struggled with this exercise! For this, you are expected to step on and off the balance board in time to the music and along with the other Mii's that are on the screen in front of you. Because I found this so hard, I avoided doing it for a while and then decided to give it another go and have since found out that I am not actually as bad as I thought I was. Now I actually quite enjoy doing this and again, this is another exercise that gets your heart pumping.

As I mentioned earlier, the Aerobic Exercise has 9 sections to it but most of the exercises are just different variations of the basic three. There are also two other Step exercises in this section as well as this one. The other two are advanced versions of this where the you have to step faster and the routines get more tricky. One of the other step routines is where you are required to step on and off the balance board for ten minutes. For this exercise, you have the option to listen to your music or watch TV while you are exercising and you don't necessarily need to watch the screen for the Wii for the entire 10 minutes as your progress is given to you through the Wii remote. I quite like this idea as it means you can exercise while watching Eastenders!

JoggingFor this one, you don't actually use the balance board. Instead you put the Wii remote in your pocket (or hold it in your hand) and jog on the spot to move along the track on the screen. Again, this has an advanced section where you can take part in a ten minute exercise routine where you can watch TV, listen to music etc like I explained above.I really enjoy this section and wish that there were more exercises to choose from as it can be quite limited with just the three sections to pick between. The is one of the sections where you can really feel your heart rate increase and you can feel the effects of the exercises the day after.

Muscle ExercisesNext are the muscle exercises. These are aimed at strengthening and toning various parts of the body. As you select each muscle exercise, you are informed of which area of your body this will tone up. As you start to improve your technique, you will be able to increase the number of repetitions which means you are always challenging yourself to do that little bit better.

At the beginning of this section, you need to pick a personal trainer, there are two choices, male or female, personally. I picked a female as if this were a real life situation, I would prefer a female as I think I would be too self conscious in front of a male trainer! You can swap trainers as often as you like so don't worry if you decide you don't like yours! Your trainer helps you to do the various exercises by talking you through the exercises and they also offer encouragement when you do well as guide you with tips when your not doing so well!

There are twelve exercises in this section and three 'challenges' where you can challenge yourself against the trainer - as you can imagine, these challenges are pretty hardcore! Some of these exercises are quite frankly. Bloody difficult but I quite like the fact that I need to challenge myself to be able to complete them. It also helps that you are given a score for each exercise you do, your score is then entered onto the leader board and my partner and I are constantly in competition with each other to see who can get to the top of the leader board! For some of the muscle exercises, you need to stand on the balance board and for others, you are required to support yourself on the board, for example, for the press ups, you need to place you hands on the balance board and complete a set of press ups in this position!

I really like this section although I am not particularly sure I enjoy it as it can be quite touch. I find the arm exercises especially difficult because I have very weak arms but I have certainly seen an improvement in my arms since I have been using the Wii Fit, my arms certainly look and feel more toned.

YogaWith the Yoga section, you also get a personal trainer to talk you through the various poses. Again, you also get a score for each exercise. In this section there are fifteen different Yoga poses to work on most of which are done on the balance board although a few of them are done on the floor. The first few poses are quite simple and easy such as deep breathing but as you progress through them, you will find the poses become more difficult. Throughout each of the poses, you are shown your centre of gravity and are informed where you need to keep this in order to get the best results from the poses. I found this really useful as it helps you to see exactly what position you need to be in. I have never ever done Yoga before and when I first started doing this section, I found it pretty hard, especially the poses which are to be done using only one leg. My balance is rubbish and trying to stand entirely still on one leg was a challenge in itself for me. Having said that, I have found that over the past two months, my balance has improved and I am starting to obtain higher scores on the poses which I found very difficult in the beginning.Although I enjoy the Yoga, it is probably my least favourite section as I find the Aerobic and Balance Exercises more enjoyable.

Balance ExercisesThis is the section which I enjoy the most. In my opinion, the various exercises in here don't feel like exercises at all, they feel more like games. In this sections there are nine exercises which all involve suing your balance.

Every exercise if different and the idea is you need to adjust your weight on the balance board on order to move the various items on the screen. For example, one of the exercise is to 'Head A Ball'. On the screen you will see your Mii character who is stood in goal. In front of you there are other Mii's who are trying to score a goal. The idea is you have to stop as many goals as you can by heading the ball. You need to adjust your weight from side to side on the balance board in order for your Mii to head the ball. Added to this, there are also other items such as football boots and panda heads (random I know) which you need to avoid. If you end up heading one of these then you will loose points.

Other options in this section are the Downhill Ski Slalom, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Tightrope Walking and making your way down the River inside a Bubble without popping it. There are others which involve rolling balls around flat plates into the holes without the balls falling off the plates (where each level gets harder to do), helping a penguin to catch fish on a slippery iceberg and sitting as still as you can.

Every single one of these exercises are good fun although like all things in life, I do have my favourites. I am not keen on the Tightrope Walking or the Snowboarding as I find them both very difficult to do. I must point out that for some of these exercises, your Mii is required to jump. However, you do not actually jump on the balance board as this would damage it, instead you bend you knees and then stand up straight in one sharp motion. In turn, this makes your Mii jump.

I find that this section really makes you feel involved in what you are doing because each exercise is challenging and I find myself getting really frustrated when I am unable to complete a difficult section of the challenge. Myself and my boyfriend are always trying to beat each others scores on this section too which I feel adds to the fun!

SummaryI would highly recommend the Wii Fit to anyone. I have had mine since May and aside from when I have been working nights, I have used it every week without fail, sometimes every day and other times just once or twice a week. I think that the Wii Fit is a fantastic idea, especially in this day and age where obesity is a problem and children sit in front of computers all day and don't get enough exercise, this is the perfect compromise.

The Wii Fit is suitable for all ages which means that the whole family can get involved in using it. The games are kept nice and simple and the Wii Fit as a whole is really easy to use and the various exercises are so easy to follow.

I find that the Wii Fit actually helps me to exercise more which may sound a bit silly as anyone can exercise at home but I find that if I stick the Wii on and follow my trainers guidelines, then I actually feel more inclined to exercise, rather than if I were doing the exercises by myself.I am not actually overweight so my Wii Fit was bought with the intention of maintaining my weight and to tone myself up. Having said that, since I have been using the Wii, I have actually lost 5 lbs. which is proof that the exercises really do work!Although this was bought for me as a present, I have looked on the internet and seen that the average price for the Wii Fit is £69.99 which is pretty expensive but in my opinion, I think it is worth the money. If you are looking to help keep yourself fit in the comfort of your own home, they you can go far wrong with a Wii Fit!

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Top marks from me!

Wii Fit is a fitness game that came with the Wii balance board which connects to the Nintendo Wii console.The game seems to come with the board in most shops.

To buy the game alone costs around £20 and the board and game package can be bought from around £50 online. I think it's a really good price if you think you would get a lot of use out of it.The game comes on a DVD type disc which you insert into the Wii console. You can either create a new character, use a character saved on your Wii console or play as a guest, which is best for friends to have a go who are not going to be playing it regularly. Up to eight people can save a character on the game.

When you first start using the game it will ask you for your height and date of birth. It will then ask you to turn on your balance board and stand on it and it will weigh you and let you know your BMI. It will then tell you whether you are underweight, ideal, overweight or obese. You can then enter your target weight and set yourself a time frame. It will then let you know how much weight you will need to lose each week to reach this target.You will also be given a Wii Fit Age which is determined by a balance test.

The game allows you to put a password on your character if the console is used by other people and you don't want them to see your weight or goal information.When you have done this you can go on to do the training. There are four types of training to choose from which is good as sometimes you may not be in the mood to do a certain type of exercise and you can pick your favourites. I have been trying to do at least one of each type of training each day but I have to admit I'm not keen on some of them.

The types of training to choose from are Yoga, Aerobics, Strength training and Balance games. You will only be given a few of each type of exercise to start with, you will unlock new exercises the more you play the game. A small screen will count up how many minutes of training you have done each day.Yoga TrainingYou can choose between a male and female character who will be your virtual instructor. The character will do different yoga poses and breathing exercises which you are to copy. For some exercises there is a bar and a certain part of your body should touch the board when the bar is displayed to get the correct timing and get a good score for the exercise.

Strength TrainingThis will show you exercises to do to improve your strength such as push ups, squats and lunges. Again you will have a bar which will help you to keep in time and hold to the positions for a certain time.AerobicsThere are some tricky and fun exercises in this section. Jogging is one and you can also select two player jogging if you want to race against someone. Other games include hula hoop and step aerobics exercises which are a little bit like using your balance board as a dance mat, stepping on and off the board in time with the arrows on the screen.

Balance gamesThis is my favourite section with plenty of fun games to choose from. The games including heading a ball, skiing and tight rope walking. One of my favourites is table tilt where a table with a hole in it will be shown on the screen, there will be a ball or several balls on the table and you have to shift your weight around the board to move the table and get the balls to go down the hole without them rolling off the table.

ResultsYour score will be either points or a time which will then be put on a leaderboard. The same leaderboard is used for all characters so it is good to try and beat others' scores who also have a profile on the game. It is a good way of motivating you as you want to climb up the leaderboard and beat friends and families scores.

My OpinionI really like this game and think it's one that the whole family can play. I like the fact that you can choose which exercises or games you want to do each time you play. The only thing that can be a little annoying is that the characters and sounds (as with most Wii games) are very childish. It doesn't put me off using it at all though. When I first started using it I played a lot of the balance games and saw it as much more of a game than an exercise. Until the following day, it really worked out muscles I didn't know I had so it was very good that I was exercising without it feeling like a chore. I think that, as with all exercise, if you stick at it and try to use it regularly you would definitely see results. I've only been on it a few weeks but I definitely feel better already. I'm not using the board to lose weight, but more to tone up and I feel that it has helped. I do know a couple of friends and family members who are using this as a weight loss tool and are seeing improvements.I think anything that can make exercising a bit more interesting is something I have to recommend. The fact that it can be done in your own time and in the privacy of your own home is also good. Especially for people only starting to exercise as they may not like to exercise in front of other people.

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great fun gente exercise

The Wii fit is an interactive fitness game only available on the Nintendo Wii.

When it was first released the Wii Fit cost around £150, now however it has been out quite a while and you can get it from shops second hand, for as little as £30. In the bundle you get the Wii fit board, which is a white plastic board that sits on the ground, that you stand on for the various Wii Fit activities, as well as the wii fit game and a set of batteries.

The game consists of several different types of activities, including yoga, muscle exercises, balance games and aerobic exercises. The wii fit also monitors your weight, your BMI (body mass index) aswell as the amount of time spent on the activities a day and the amount of calories you have burned.

It is really simple to use, once you have synced the board to your wii and out the game in, it instructs you on what to do, tells you when to stand on the board and works out your ideal weight. It then allows you to set a goal for yourself, as well as telling you all sorts of helpful hints and tips on how to live healthier. Not only does it encourage you to do more exercise and be healthy, it also helps you work on your posture by showing you where your centre of balance lies and how to improve body strength etc.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone wanting to do a bit of gentle exercise, it is by no means an intensive workout but doing it everyday you can definitely feel the benefits. After spending an hour doing the muscle workouts I woke up the next day to find my stomach muscles really achy, so it definitely does something. On top of this it is fun, especially playing with your friends and family if you dont mind making a fool of yourself! And for the price, you cant complain. Its a great motivational tool to keep checking your weight and BMI every day, and the game also has a little moan at you if you gain weight or dont exercise for a while.

The wii fit board now also comes in black but tends to be slightly more expensive, and there is also Wii Fit Plus available, which is exactly the same as the Wii Fit - but has about 15 extra activities on the game.

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An amazing piece of kit, seriously try it out dudes and dudettes xx

I have always thought the idea of interactive games was awesome, they are so much fun for the whole family. The Wii fit was released a while back, and is still quite popular- that my friends is for a very good reason: it's good fun, quick and easy to use, a total recommendation.

On first appearance, the Wii fit board is white with a small blue power button ( indicating it's switched on, surprisingly this is quite helpful) and does just about everything. When you switch it on, you are introduced to the game and given instructions on how to use it and a body test- for measuring your height, weight, BMI and how you compare to others and are given a game plan, like I say, to get in better shape.

There are a number of games available:- Golf,- Running ( several options for this game)- Steps ( and for Wii fit plus steps plus)- Balance games- Yoga-Muscle workouts- Aerobic exercises- Skiing and ski jump- others are available that I can't remember but these are the ones I enjoyed most

The Wii board is quite easy to use, as it switches on quickly and instructs you on how to play each game.You can see how many calories you have burnt off after each work out session, and how you ranked in comparison for other Mii's in your Mii village ( available in the Wii menu for further customisation)Personallly, the wii fit was an amazing experience and i urge anyone who hasn't got one or played it before to play at least once as you can literally watch your body become more healthy. The Wii fit gives you hints and tips as to which foods are better for you than others, although for you lucky educated people you may already know ;)

The wii piggy shows you how much time you have spent on the game and how this, again, compares with the other players on your system. This data is then presented on a graph for you to see and comapre the difference from when you started to now. You can also see a total amount of days you have been active, and even receive a fair telling off from the machine for staying away too long; if that is not encouragement then what is? This piece of technology seriously wont do you any harm and is relatively cheap to buy, retailing at a reasonable price of £69.99 brand new, I think I even saw a limited edition available in Game which was black. I bought mine second hand from Game last year at Christmas for £39.99 and was in amazing condition and works perfectly, as if new. So, for those of you now willing to fork out 70 quid you can buy one second hand for a fraction of the price and it really has no difference, but I understand the principle and excitement you get from buying something with a bigger price tag...I've been there ;)

5 Dooyoo stars from Pinky, oh, and you might need to buy some batteries...just a reminder as it set me back in my tracks when they run out as soon as I bought the board... but an extra couple of quick wont break the bank. Thanks for reading guys! xxx

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Not ideal to base all your exercise regime around

We purchased our Wii and Wii Fit as a bundle from Game. We love our Wii and Wii Fit an use it regularly even three years on.

The Wii Fit comes with a game and balance board. The balance board syncs with your Wii an works with the game (along with some other games too).

There are a lot of exercises to do on the Wii Fit such as Yoga, Leg Exercises, Boxing, and Step. You complete these exercise while standing on the board and the Wii tells you how you are doing and clocks your exercise time. There are also games such as Hula Hooping that are more fun. Its a great game to set you moving. The game is easy to navigate and there are lots of exercises and games to play on you own. There's not many multiplayer options which would be a good addition!

The Wii balance board is sturdy and not likely to break very easily. It takes 4 x AA batteries but you can purchase a rechargable pack from some shops such as Amazon and it's worth getting these as it will soon drain your standard batteries.

However, Nintendo promote the Wii Fit as an exercise option. I think this is an exaggeration in my opinion. Yes the Wii Fit could supplement your current exercise and add aspects such strength training or yoga but I don't think it should be used for all of you exercise. You are not likely to burn a lot of calories or really break into a sweat.

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worth having for the balance board and the strength exercises, but needs more for calorie burning

My Mum bought a Nintendo Wii for the sole purpose of Wii Fit and when I go and stay with her in the Uni holidays I give it a go. I was there when she set it up; it asks you to enter your details, choose your Mii (avatar) and then it takes you through a series of challenges to assess your Wii Fit Age. These include measuring your weight and various balance and reaction challenges. The object is to get your Wii age as close to 18 as possible. You can calculate this Wii Age every day and it plots a nice little graph for you; this is particularly useful for anyone who is trying to lose weight and doesn't want to plot their own graph - the Wii does it for you.

So once you've calculated your Wii Fit Age every day, you can move on to the exercises. Now I say exercises, but a lot of them are more balance orientated and if you're looking for a full cardio workout - Wii Fit isn't for you. It's more about getting better posture and toning rather than burning hundreds of calories. But if you spend long enough doing them, there is a calorie counter that tells you exactly how many you have burnt - I usually get about 150 in half an hour.The four categories of exercises are Strength training, aerobics, yoga and balance games.

One of the best features of the game is the stretches in the strength training section - you choose a gym instructor (female or male) and they guide you through a series of stretches to tone different parts of your body. These are really great and the Wii Balance board can measure how well you're doing them so you don't end up injuring yourself doing them wrong. Once you've learnt the stretches you can do them anywhere if you're away from your Wii (or just can't be bothered to turn it on!).

As I mentioned above, the aerobics section gets you active and burns some calories, but if you want to get really sweaty then perhaps invest in a game like Zumba fitness or Just Dance. The boxing is probably the most energetic part of this section. There's a 'free run' section which is basically just jogging on the spot in your front room, but the little adventure on screen makes it a bit more fun.

Yoga is not something I have a big interest in and I never really explored this part. I had a quick look and it's very similar to the strength training; you do the moves on screen and the balance board records how well you do them. This improves flexibility and core strength.

The balance games are a lot of fun; they involve moving your entire body in order to hit targets or move around. I found this actually did improve my posture.

The game is a lot of fun and gets you off of the sofa and moving around a bit. Does it get you fit? Not really - there is no substitute for proper exercise and a good diet but it gives you good advice and a good starting point. And aside from everything else, the balance board is very clever and you can use it as part of other games like Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic games.

A game that encourages players to get off the sofa and onto the scales

Wiifit was one of the first fitness games to come onto the market with the sole intention of helping players to do the opposite of what videogaming usually entails, to get active and hopefully fitter. The premise is that if you use the WiiFit on a regular basis and with a healthy diet and exercise regime it can help you to lose weight. There are several activites on offer split into the following categories;

Aerobic: Hula hooping, step aerobics, jogging, boxing, Balance: Games that challenge you to keep your balance and shift side to side.Muscle workout : Work on the different areas of your body to build definition and toneYoga: Work on flexibility, toning and stamina. Favourites: A collection of the activities you do the most at the touch of your wiiremote.

WiiFit also features a calender that maps your daily activity, weight and wiifit age. The board also acts as a set of scales which depressingly keeps track of how much weight you have lost..... or gained. The Wii balance board presents you with a wii fit age based on your level of fitness in correlation to your actual age. Also keeping a track of your BMI Wiifit suggests goals for you to reach within a certain time period. I am currently on my 922nd day of WiiFit - 450 of these a leave of absence and have yet to reach a goal in the time period set. Though I may have lost weight, this was unfortunately during the 450 days I was not on the Wii Fit. This is not a miracle weight loss tool. It requires will power and dedication from the player to put the effort in, however it does help as a motivational aid and is good for those who can't fit exercise into their daily routine. Further activites are unlocked by clocking up a set amount of minutes played which gives you the motivation to keep going so you can progress.

Graphically wiifit doesn't have much to offer as it has the least to offer to the market when compared to things like the PS3 and Xbox but that isn't what developers Nintendo are concerned about. A nice little touch is that you create your own Mii modelled on yourself and as you lose weight you'll see your little Mii turn from a round tummyed jolly little chappie into a slender Mii. I love nothing more than going for a fictional jog around the park and watching all the other Miis run around too, giving you a little wave as they go past. In reality, if I went for a jog in the park, I'd be laughed out of there, ridiculed. Wiifit gives me the freedom to jog around a lush green park, free from bags of doggy poop at a pace comfortable for me.

Unfortunatley after many days of playing this I found myself getting bored of doing the same activites over and over again on a daily basis. In this sense it can be a short lived affair for quite a lot of money. With the release of Wii Fit plus, the original Wiifit has less to offer in terms of activites.

WiiFit was an innovative release that paved the way for more fitness games to come flooding onto the market. The addition of the BMI chart is its biggest unique selling point, the best way to be able to map your weight effectively. The Wii balance board mascot is always available to pipe in with helpful hints and tips for a more healthy lifestyle. It's nice to see a game that finally encourages us to get off our backsides and do a bit of exercise.

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A Fun Way To Work Out

Wii Fit is a great way to exercise. It's fun too. It is very easy to set up. All you do is enter your name, age and height, stand on the board and it tells you how much you way and your BMI.

You can set how much weight you want to lose in a certain period of time. Then, you can play all different kinds of mini games. These include - Step Aerobics, Jogging, Balancing, Hula Hooping, Rhythm Boxing, etc. You can also do a variety of yoga techniques and ways to gain muscles.

Every day, you can do a test which consists of balancing techniques to find out what your fitness age is.

A good feature they have added is a timer which tells you how long you have worked out each day. You can choose between two different virtual personal trainers to help you on your journey to your perfect body.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game because it is very fun and makes exercising less of a challenge. I play it all the time, just because of the fun games you can play.

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A lot of fun for the whole family

I have never been one for sticking to a diet and have come to the conclusion that if I want to eat what I like and remain thin I have to keep active. I absolutely hate going to gyms where the crap music and TV is blasted at you, you queue for hours to use the hamster wheel and the mirrors surrounding you forcing you to look at yourself in 360 degrees which is offputting when you're trying to concentrate on exercising. Running around after my son does offer some light exercise but I needed something more so this is where the Wii Fit comes in. I tend to use the Wii fit when my son has gone to bed on an evening for about 30 min and have found the results really amazing and believe that as long as you are persistent you will gain something from it be it weight loss, improving general fitness, balance or posture.

I have been using the Wii fit for about 2 months now and now feel knowledgeable enough to tell you what I think. The Wii fit that I purchased came with a Nintendo balance board in white and the game is contained within a clunky plastic case - You can purchase the game seperately although most places stock the Wii Fit Plus rather than the original Wii fit that I have. The game alone costs £15 but the bundle of game and board comes to about £70 brand new although you can get a second hand bundle for £44 from Game which is what I did.

Getting Started:

The balance board is a sturdy white plastic board measuring 50 x 30 cm which can seem rather large but this is a good thing when it comes to the games and takes 4 x AA batteries which you slot into the compartment on the bottom of the step. The game is contained on a Nintendo Wii cd and when enter it into the Wii you select the CD and the game along with all the usual warning pages loads up. The first thing that the system will ask you to do is callibrate your board which just means pressing the red button on the bottom of the step (where the batteries are) and pressing the red button on the front of the Wii - You only need to do this once. To get into the games you need to select a Mii using your Wii controller and answer standard questions about height, age and clothing weight and then the board weighs you and calculates your BMI and informs you if you are underweight, ideal weight, overweight or obese. Once you have your BMI the system then asks you to perform some simple balance games and then tells your fitness age which for me was initially +4 years of my actual age -Not too bad but definite room for improvement.

Now for the games:

Once you've gone through all the tests you are ready for the games which are under 4 catagories 1) Yoga 2) Muscle Exercise 3) Cardiovascular and 4) Balance. My favourite of these games has to be the Hula hooping (Cardiovascular) where you stand on your balance board rotating your hips and then leaning to the side to catch oncoming hoola hoops which are thrown at you by other Mii characters. This might sound easy but honestly you're abs absolutely kill after doing it for 3 min rotating left and then 3 min rotating right on your first go :p The other game that I like is the skiing game (balance) where you lean left and right to move your character between flags whilst you careering down a mountain and the tightrope game is blooming difficult if you're not the best on your feet.

Admittedly I've never been the most gracious when it comes to balance and am rather hippoesque rather than swan like with my movements tending to trip over my own feet and land face first on a frequent basis - especially when people are in city centres on a Saturday with Trolley cases behind them - Aaargghhh! Sorry, anyway my point being that this game has really helped me gain a steady balance and I am nowhere near as clumsy as I was and am able to keep my centre of gravity 90% of the time.

As for the Yoga and Muscle training programs these are the least entertaining for those that like the fun graphics as it's just you and either a male or female trainer trying out various moves to strengthen your core and particular muscle groups. What I like about this section is that before each movement the trainer demonstrates the move (which you can skip if you like) and the balance board is used with most of these moves so that the system can tell you if you're standing incorrectly or leaning back too far forward/backward which is usually my problem on the push ups and side push ups.

Other technical stuff:

The system recommends that you train about 30 min each day and there is a calender on the game which allows you to set targets and watch your progress (weight, BMI and fitness age). The board does have an upper weight limit of 23 st 8lb/150Kg and recommends that people with heart, pulmonary or any other medical conditions which would affect their ability to train should first consult a medic which makes sense. The Wii fit game makes use of the Wii remote throughout and I kept finding myself picking it up and putting it down as there are some games such as the yoga/muscle workouts where you need to place it down in order to replicate the moves - I personally found this slightly irritating as you are constantly tightening/slackening the wrist strap in order to prevent you dropping it - But then again what else can they do?

My overall opinion:

I absolutely adore the Wii fit and even though the novelty has worn off a bit I find myself using it no less than 3 times a week for 30 min each time - Make sure you're away from a window if you're shy as I imagine people wouldn't be able to help but stare if you hoola-ing . I shall never go to a gym again and shall use both the Wii fit and running after my young son as a more entertaining form of workout. Inevitably my parents will want to have a go when they come though and when my son is old enough I won't get chance to use it - According to the case it's suitable from 3 years of age and I know that my parents although arthritic would benefit from some light exercise on this.

List of all the fitness games/programs (Info pasted from Amazon.co.uk)

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Initially good, but gets boring

Wow, I have never seen a product with so many reviews. Well, if 445 reviews weren't enough to help you decide whether this is a good product, let me be the 446th to give my opinion on the matter! The Wii Fit was released as an exercise 'game', and is the third best selling console game of all time (according to Wikipedia), demonstrating the game's overwhelming popularity. However, is it actually any good...?

--------Set up--------

My Wii Fit came with the balance board, which is really easy to set up to the Wii. Instructions are given within the manual, but in case you were wondering how it's done, there's button on the underside of the board which calibrates the board to the Wii. After calibration, the Wii will pick up the board every time you play from then onward. The game works with a combination of the Wii Fit Balance Board and Wii remote to track your movements and measure how well you're performing.

In order to play the game, you first need to create a Mii in the Mii Channel on the Wii's menu. This is very simple and easy to do, and you can choose from a range of hairstyles and facial expressions. You can also choose what colour to dress your Mii in. I would suggest that every member who uses the Wii Fit dress themselves in a different colour (I'll explain why in a bit).

So, once you've created your Mii, you start the Wii Fit game and register your Mii on the menu setup, which is very simple to do. You are then introduced to the Wii Fitness Board, who is essentially your guide throughout the 'game'. Hold up, how can a Fitness Board be a guide, I hear you ask? Yes, I found it odd too. But it becomes an over-enthusiastic, over-chirpy animated character who, trust me, will get on your nerves.

You then go through a fairly simple set up of height, weight, date of birth and balance tests in order to establish your Wii Fit age. The better you do in the balance tests, and the better your weight, the lower your Wii Fit age will be.

---------------Wii Fit Plaza---------------

The initial menu, called the Wii Fit Plaza, is really simple and easy to use. Along the bottom of the screen, all registered Wii Fit users are lined up next to each other in the form of Miis. Something I really like about this is that your activeness on the Wii Fit will affect the activeness of your Mii. So, for example, if you have not used the Wii Fit in a few days, your Mii will fall asleep on screen.

Above them is a graph, which compares each member's progress. So, remember when I said that each Mii playing Wii Fit should be a different colour? This is because the line on the graph which represents your progress corresponds to the colour of your shirt. Therefore, it makes more sense to have different colours so you can easily track one another's progress. You can choose to compare BMI or FitCash, which I'll explain in a bit.

Otherwise, there are 4 little circles on the side of the graph which give you the following options:* Go back to the Wii menu* Register a new user * Enter settings mode - you can do a Wii balance board check if you think the balance settings might be off* Enter trial mode - this is really good if you want to show someone who doesn't have the game how Wii Fit works. It registers them as a guest and gives them a taster of the game.

To access the next screen, select your Mii character.

--------Menu--------

Whenever you click your Mii, you will then be greeted by the Wii Fit Balance Board, who will always give you an annoying, useless piece of information (I really don't like him if you haven't guessed) before actually allowing you to get to the main screen.

Once you've gotten past the pesky Wii Board, your personal calendar is displayed, which shows on which days you took a Body Test (which is not dissimilar to the test you take in the set up). You are also offered an array of options. These include, viewing the graph from the Wii Plaza screen in more detail, as well as taking the Body Test and entering Training mode.

-------------Body Test-------------

You are advised to take the Body Test every day in order to track your weight change and to test your balance by taking some tests. You have the option to skip the balance tests if you want. I tend to do this now, as my concern was not with my balance but with my weight. Something I find annoying about the Body Test is that it checks where my centre of gravity is on every Body Test. This is to determine whether your posture is good or not. I wish that, like the balance tests, there was some way of bypassing the results of this, as I'm really not interested in whether I have a good posture or not. However, once this is over, your weight is displayed to you, first in the form of your BMI, and then you can see how many lbs you have gained/lost.

-----------Training----------

This is what I consider to be the main selling point of Wii Fit. The good thing about the Training mode does have a variety of activities for you to use, as listed below. Each activity has a time value, which is converted into FitCash. Your FitCash is essentially just a measurement of how much exercise you have done for the day.

*Yoga - I rarely practice the yoga, and haven't tried all the positions, as some of them look way too difficult for my liking. Things like the Breathing exercise are easy ways of earning FitCash, and fooling yourself into believing you've done lots of exercise. However, the real intention of this section is, of course, to improve balance, and so if this is something you're interested in, there are 15 exercises for you to practice.

*Muscle workouts - Like the yoga, I rarely do this. This section includes things such as press ups, which I am rubbish at, and so the section really does not appeal to me at all. However, like the yoga, there are 15 exercises for you to practice if you so wish, and they're probably a good way of warming up/down, providing you don't pull a muscle in the process!

*Aerobic Exercises - This is the section that appealed to me most with regard to Wii Fit. Here, there are 15 exercises which range from hula hooping, to step aerobics, to jogging. This is where I thought I'd really lose the weight. As you earn more FitCash, harder exercises are unlocked, which offer variety to your exercise routines. My favourite exercise in this whole section is the Freestyle Step Aerobics, which allows you to do Step Aerobics whilst watching the TV. You set the amount of time you want to do, and the Wii remote guides your steps by playing a timer noise, so that you can keep up with the rhythm without having to look at your Mii on the TV, leaving you free to flick to whichever channel you'd like.

However, if you use do these exercises continuously, you soon find yourself getting bored of the same old thing. There is no variation to the Step Aerobics routines, and twirling a 'hula hoop' around your waist is only entertaining for so long. I think the Wii Fit Plus was released as a combatant to this, and of course to make more money. I've never played it so can't compare the games, but I expect that it would offer some variation on the exercises available.

*Balance Games - These I find to be more of a fun section than anything else. I enjoy the games, such as tightrope walking, but only as a form of distraction. I don't consider them to be real exercise, and so they don't get played as often as I use the Aerobic Exercises section.

*Favourites - Here, your most played exercises are listed, which is handy if you have a combination of exercises from different sections that you do on a regular basis.

---------------My opinion---------------

I think that the idea of Wii Fit was excellent, and at the time of its release, it was unlike any other exercise 'game' on the market. I say the word 'game' loosely as it's more of an exercise programme rather than a game. The Wii Fit Balance Board is extremely versatile, and the developers were really clever to design it in a way that can measure not only weight, but how well you perform the balancing exercises etc. In that respect, the Wii Fit is a success.

However, the real question is will the Wii Fit successfully help you lose weight? In my opinion, the answer is no. Or rather, that was the case with me. It requires a lot of will power to stay with the same old routines again and again and again, and I find I can rarely use the activities for more than 2 weeks continuously without getting bored.

That said, if you do have the willpower, then there is a very real chance that you will see the benefits of using the Wii Fit. Things such as the Freestyle Jogging and Step Aerobics are a favourite with me, as you are able to do them almost without thinking because your mind is occupied with what's on TV. Also, practicing the balancing games and yoga will inevitably improve your balance. I neglect these sections more than the aerobic exercises, as simply, I have no interest in improving my balance.

These days, I generally don't do any of the exercise parts at all, as I find that adjusting my diet is more effective to control my weight than using the exercises on the game. I do, however, still tend to use the Body Test mode most days, as I enjoy seeing how my weight has changed. I have had the Wii Fit for about 3 years now, and so it's really interesting to compare how my weight has varied between bad and good.

However, on the whole I probably wouldn't recommend the Wii Fit for someone who is seriously trying to lose weight, unless you're certain you have the willpower and are not one who gets bored of repetitive activities. The Wii Fit is still quite expensive as well, costing £79.99 from Amazon for the disc and the Balance Board. It's not exactly a cheap investment. If you're considering getting it, I would advise trying it by having a go on a friend's etc. and imagining that you had to do the exercises on a daily basis. Otherwise, it's probably better to save your money.

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Good tool to use to aid weightloss, but shouldnt be used alone. Good for entertainment too

Wii fit board can be used with other games adapted for it. Can use you Miis, and create a profile using your weight and height. The profile tracks your progress over the long term.The board is simple to use, whilst doing the "Body Test" the board initialises and weighs you, and monitors where your centre of gravity is. Positives:

Can keep a track of your weight and BMI. This is great if trying to lose weight, it records a graph, and you can set yourself a target and deadline, and the wii fit will remind you of it. Has a wide range of games and tasks, balancing, muscle workouts, and aerobic exercises. There is also a jogging and stepping game, which you can watch tv whilst it logs your steps on the wii remote. You can set the games to different levels, depending on how hard you want to/can work.Negatives:

It takes time to actually get to the exercise workouts, you find yourself clicking constantly through menus and checklists. You could spend 2 hours on the game and only manage to do 30 mins to 1hours worth of actual exercise. You quickly earn all of the games, and can sometimes find yourself asking if there is anymore, so it can get a bit boring.

Overall, i think that this is great for tracking weightloss and BMI, by doing the body test, as it only takes a few minutes to jump on there and weigh yourself, and also for entertainment, and getting back into exercise after along time without, however, i would suggest that other exercise is carried out along side this game if you are really looking for a workout! :)

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A good game but not better than the gym

Well the Wii keeps offering more and more. My family have had a lot of fun on the wii; the sports kit was fantastic and whenever we had friends round, I also managed to convince them that bowling was a good idea. This game provides the same sort of entertainment; watching your friends hula-hooping and skiing is lots of fun. It's all in the hips! I would not recommend that you buy this product to shed pounds; that ploy seems a bit of a con but if you are looking for a fun innovative game then look no further. You can set up a programme that aims at assisting you with your goals and it does calculate your bmi. (upsetting stuff as it told my friend, a size 12 healthy woman, that she was slightly obese!) The game divides it's exercises in to categories, the cardio such as the running ( running on the spot holding the wii controller.. You decide what you make of this, I found it a bit odd.) Then there are the balance exercises; these are the most fun such as snow boarding. Finally there are the core strength stretch exercises. I really can't see how standing on the board will do anything for weight loss. Hula-hooping does tighten up your stomach muscles though! I was in agony the next day! The stretches and toning exercises are great and the trainer explains them really well but they are nothing to do with the board! The trainer tells you how long to hold certain positions for and some of them, such as the tree are pretty tricky. It is s good family game, the skiing and sliding penguins are hilarious and more games are unlocked the more you play on it. Overall just don't be conned thinking it's a ticket to getting fit and losing weight but it is a clever ingenious bit of kit. The set up is fairly easy; you have to make sure the wii detects it by pressing buttons on the wii and the board; synching them together. This means that the board is then like another controller. The game then wants you to stand on the board to check it is connected. Sometimes it is a bit frustrating when it keeps ordering you to stand on it and off it a hundred times before the sensor decides to find you!

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Product Details

Wii Fit has been designed to be enjoyed by the whole family. Wii Fit will enable everyone in the family to combine fitness with fun. Wii Fit comes bundled with the Balance Board, an accessory developed exclusively for the Wii console. Wii Fit will help everyone in the household to increase there awareness of the importance that fitness plays in everyday life, keeping yourself and family motivated for the fun fitness it offers to users. Wii Fit offers 3 key additions to your household, know your physique , train yourself, check your progress. Wii Balance Board The Wii Balance Board is a pressure sensitive, wireless balance board that is placed on the floor ? so someone can stand on it in front of the TV. The Wii balance board senses weight and shift in balance in any direction, and so by simply standing on the Wii board during activities allows players to follow along to movements ensuring they have control of the on-screen activities. Know your physique: Wii fit will allow you to check and monitor 3 areas of your physique, BMI (body mass index), centre of gravity & then set your goals, against these areas. The BMI test measures your weight / height¦. Wii Fit will take this measurement and let you know how you fair in comparison to the ideal. Once you are aware of your BMI you can set goals to reduce this measurement, by take part in the Wii Fit exercises and introducing a healthier lifestyle. Your centre of gravity is measured via the Wii Fit age test in which you will take on various balance in an attempt to keep you Wii Fit age as close to or lower than you real age. Train Yourself: Wii Fit contains 4 training categories Aerobic Exercises, Muscle conditioning, Yoga and Balance Games. All the training categories are designed to help develop bodily balance control, burn fat, help tone and condition muscle, as well increase aerobic stamina. All these great activities offer a fun way to get fit with your family